Marion County RECORD

Thanks to an outpouring of volunteers, parents of children in the Marion area grades K-12 can officially reallocate their child’s weekday summer lunch budget.
The city of Marion gathered enough support from groups within the community to participate in the No Kid Hungry federal program, which will provide free lunches to kids from USD 408 and USD 397 in kindergarten through high school every weekday during the summer.

Throughout December and January, county commissioners were besieged with complaints about gravel roads turning to mud.
While road crews have put down gravel as fast as they could, a different brand of complaint has surfaced: The new gravel is too rough.

If there is one person with fervor for live music that is in a position to help orchestrate a music scene in Marion County, it’s Lindsey Marshall, owner of Coneburg Grill and Pub.
Since she took the helm at what she often calls “The Burg” in 2011, Marshall has taken pains to make her restaurant not only a roadside eatery and tavern, but has gradually ratcheted up its reputation as a county venue and destination location for live music.

When cable network HBO airs a special report on experimental cancer treatments Friday, Pam Jones of Marion will be tuned in, looking for her brother.
Mike Connor of Lenexa is Jones’ oldest brother, and he was at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston when HBO came to film “Vice Special Report: Killing Cancer.” Connor has glioblastoma, the most aggressive form of brain cancer.

Jason Allison is fighting a battle he cannot win. Diagnosed this past fall with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the 42-year-old Florence native who currently resides in Gwinner, North Dakota, will die from the disease, barring a miracle of medical science.
As he and his family grapple with a staggering reality, a former classmate is trying to improve that reality through online fundraising efforts.

The impact of state finances on local governments was detailed for Marion Chamber of Commerce members Friday at their monthly luncheon meeting.
Marion City Administrator Roger Holter and County Commission Chairman Dan Holub took turns describing how state-to-local funding was designed to work, and contrasted that against current barriers that have left cities and counties scrambling to operate with less.

County commissioners approved $4,050 Monday to upgrade the fire suppression systems for the kitchen stoves at the Peabody and Hillsboro senior centers.
Gayla Ratzlaff, coordinator for the county’s department on aging, said that both stoves as well as the stove at the Marion Senior Center were “red-tagged” in October, indicating that they must be upgraded to meet current fire codes.

Amy Grosse-Bayes upset the kill buyer.
She attended horse auctions and began snapping photographs, which did not sit well with the man who bought them in order to send them to the slaughterhouses in Mexico and Canada.

In his time on this earth, rural Marion resident Andy Hansen has spelunked the depths of enough man caves to know what sets the good caves apart from the great ones.
Many man caves have killer ping-pong tables, pool tables, and a personal bar. Some caves are decked out in motorcycle or piloting gear, while most caves have big screen TV’s on which to watch favorite teams play the big game of the week.

Twilla Baker of Lincolnville has lived on a 30-acre homestead just west of town since June 2010.
She and her husband, Lonnie, were excited to find their dream place in the country after a lifetime of work in the city. He was a retired federal air traffic controller and she was a retired registered nurse.

About three years ago, a Peabody Hardware and Lumber customer who was having a dead black walnut tree removed from her property approached storeowner Mark Whitney.
“She wondered if I knew of anyone who would want it for a building project,” Whitney said. “She told me where it was so I could go look at it. She had arranged for someone to remove the tree, but thought it was a shame to just haul it to the burn pit.”

When Bryan Grosse remodeled the old “Queenie’s” house at Washington and Walnut Sts. last year, he learned a lesson. The historic house leaned, and Grosse jacked it up seven and a half inches to make it even.
“Sometimes they can be lowered instead,” Grosse said. “I figured that out after the fact.”

Among the sideshows in the bizarre circus that is the Kansas Legislature, I find none more infuriating than a Shawnee legislator’s bill, driven by a book-burning mentality, to criminalize teaching.
Yes, you read that right. Teachers could be bona fide criminals if SB 56 becomes law, subject to fines up to $1,000 and six months in jail.

They haven’t been “Future Farmers of America” for 27 years, not since the official name change to the National FFA Organization.
I always believed “future” was a misnomer — most of the FFA kids I’ve known were already working hard on family farms. They didn’t own the farms, but they owned farming, and they were important to making those farms succeed.

ANOTHER DAY IN THE COUNTRY:

A benefit soup supper for Carol Laue for medical expenses will take place at 5 p.m. March 4 at Our Savior Lutheran Church Parish Hall.
Our Savior Lutheran Church and Marion Christian Church are co-sponsoring the event along with Thrivent Financial for Lutherans.

Marion High School alumnus and Battalion Master Gunner for the 1-320th FAR Daniel King recently won the 2014 Field Artillery Edmund L. Gruber Award for being an outstanding field artillery soldier in the Army.
The award recognized King’s “superb individual thought, innovation, and overall excellence.” King’s contributions were said to enhance field artillery’s war fighting capabilities.

BIRTHS:

ENGAGEMENTS:

MARION SENIOR CENTER:

MEMORIES:

Centre’s Justin Bina placed first in agribusiness and business communications, and Allison Basore placed first in business law Feb. 7 in district Future Business Leaders of America competition at Anthony.
Twenty-five students participated. Centre finished eighth of 14 schools.

The Centre FFA A-team placed third at the South Central District poultry evaluation event Feb. 18 in Marion.
Members evaluated live and processed chickens, meat products, interior and exterior quality of eggs, and completed a written exam.

Justin Bina and Shelby Makovec were crowned king and queen of courts Friday at Centre High School’s homecoming ceremony.
Justin is the son of Jeff and Terri Bina of Pilsen. Shelby is the daughter of Darrin and Amy Makovec of Lost Springs.

Max Gerlach, Jarrett Johnson, Cody Shipman, Bryce Shults, Remington Putter, Adam Janzen, and Kyle Palic — though they didn’t go the distance on horseback, these seven Warriors will ride west Friday for this season’s final showdown at the 3-2-1A State Wrestling Tournament in Hays.
Scoring 152 team points over the weekend, Marion High School’s wrestling team tied Burlington for second place at the 3-2-1A Regional meet in Fredonia. The Warriors were second only to Fredonia, who scored 159 points.

The Centre Lady Cougars are not used to losing, but they faced a strong 2A school Friday at home. They were defeated in their homecoming game by Chase County 58-38.
The first half against Chase County was competitive, but a bad third quarter put the game out of reach for Centre. Trailing by 6 points at halftime, the team’s shooting turned cold.

Playing to a full house Friday, the Centre Cougars had one of their most competitive games of the season, falling to Chase County 74-68.
Chase County led 6-0 when Cole Srajer made two consecutive baskets to put Centre on the scoreboard. After baskets by Dylan Deines and Dakota Stimpson and a free throw by Justin Bina, Centre led 13-10.

Members and coaches of the 1985 Centre boys’ basketball team were honored Friday during homecoming festivities. The team placed second in the 2A tournament at Topeka.
They defeated top-ranked Kinsley in the first round and Garden Plain in the semifinals and lost to Linn in the championship game. They got to the state tournament by defeating Peabody, Solomon, and Moundridge at the sub-state tournament. Ron Weber was the head coach and Stan Wiles of Ramona was the assistant.